Dick Durbin

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DICK DURBIN - PAGE 3

Less than a year after winning a bruising fight to win confirmation as the U.S. attorney for southern Illinois, Miriam Miquelon resigned Monday. U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.), who nominated Miquelon for the post, expressed regret over her decision. "We fought very hard for her appointment and believe she did a stellar job while in office," he said in a statement. Miquelon's office issued a brief statement saying she was leaving "to allow her to seek employment in the private sector," according to the Internet service of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

If the stakes weren't so high, we might have enjoyed watching Harry Reid and Dick Durbin writhe in their self-contradictions over Rod Blagojevich's attempt to airlift Roland Burris into the U.S. Senate. But the stakes are high, and the performance of Reid and Durbin has been anything but comical. For almost a month, Reid and Durbin insisted the Senate would reject any spawn of a governor who allegedly tried to sell that very seat. Their spines turned to mush, the Tribune reported this week, after President-elect Barack Obama told Reid to make the Burris embarrassment go away.

Illinois' two Democratic U.S. senators Monday endorsed Rep. Richard Durbin for the seat one of them, Paul Simon, will be retiring from in 1996, in an effort to provide the candidacy of the Springfield congressman with some momentum. Durbin called the joint endorsement "a clear signal" that he can unite the Democratic Party. He called it the "appropriate kickoff" for the campaign he announced last week. "This is exceptional," Durbin remarked of the coup of having both senators in his camp so early.

Dick Durbin, Illinois' senior U.S. senator and the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, is telling top Democrats that he will seek a fourth term in 2014, sources familiar with his decision said Friday. Dick Durbin, Illinois' senior U.S. senator and the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, is telling top Democrats he will seek a fourth term in 2014, sources familiar with his decision said Friday. Durbin's re-election bid alleviates concerns from Democrats nationally and in Illinois that the 68-year-old lawmaker would step down from the seat previously held by his mentor, the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon.

On the eve of the inauguration of a new president from Illinois, visitors from Barack Obama's home state were treated to a sprawling, top-shelf gala with numerous themed rooms, open bars and costumed characters with which to pose for photos. The Illinois Inaugural Gala at the Renaissance Washington Hotel attracted about 7,000 guests Monday evening for what was the first of two major Illinois balls over two festive nights in the capital. With ticket prices ranging from $300 to $500, the gathering was sponsored by a group called the Illinois State Society, as well as dozens of corporate sponsors, including American Airlines, Exelon Corp.

The Republican-controlled Senate cleared the way for a final vote as early as Wednesday on an industry-backed bill to make it harder for consumers to wipe out debt through bankruptcy. Senators voted 53-46 to defeat an amendment offered by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) that had helped sink the legislation in prior years. The measure would have made it harder for people who break the law while protesting against abortion to use bankruptcy to avoid paying court-ordered fines. In another crucial vote Tuesday, 14 Democrats joined Republicans in a 69-31 majority to set a 30-hour limit on further debate on the legislation.

Responding to a Chicago Tribune investigation, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on Tuesday urged the nation's top consumer product regulator to resolve problems with federally mandated pool safety equipment that may fail to protect swimmers from a drowning hazard. A law passed after the death of a 7-year-old girl requires public pools and hot tubs to install drain covers designed to prevent the drains from turning into super-charged vacuums that can trap people underwater with hundreds of pounds of force.

WASHINGTON—Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois has given the White House the names of four Chicago area lawyers he would like to see appointed to the federal court bench in Chicago, the senator’s office said Wednesday. There now are three judicial vacancies in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Durbin, a Democrat, is the state’s senior U.S. senator. Sen. Mark Kirk, a Republican and the junior senator, separately gave the White House one recommendation to the bench on Tuesday.

Tapping into a hot issue with voters, Illinois Sens. Carol Moseley-Braun and Dick Durbin on Sunday urged their fellow senators to pass the so-called "patient bill of rights" that promises to curb abuses by managed-care health plans. Speaking in front of Cook County Hospital in Chicago, the Democratic senators decried health insurance companies that put profits over patients and called on Congress to pass the Patient Protection Act of 1998. Moseley-Braun and Durbin were joined by patients who said they were victims of HMOs that withheld coverage.

Sometimes it's hard to do a friend a favor. Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) evidently didn't check Senate rules before offering to give up his office early in favor of his protege and successor, Dick Durbin. The idea was to give the senator-elect a few extra days of seniority, a significant advantage in an institution where longevity determines the allocation of office space and committee assignments. The higher seniority would have put Durbin ahead of the 15 other new senators and raised the level of influence he could exert on behalf of Illinois.